A Frivolous Exchange
by Chibi Chidori
Summary: Itachi and Naruto -mostly Naruto- argue over something silly and Naruto leaves when Itachi can't make a decision. ItaNaru -Oneshot- Written for the ItaNaru-fest.


**Disclaimer: ** I do not own Naruto

**A Frivolous Exchange**

_Frivolous (adj) – silly, trivial_

-:-:-:-:-

**I**tachi was thoroughly amused.

His lover had a look of sheer concentration as he observed whatever was in his hands, his brows furrowed together. The man had been like that for the past 15 minutes and Itachi idly wondered if a fuse of some sort had come loose during that time. He was brought out of his musings as his lover suddenly shouted, grasping for his blond hair with his free hands.

"Argh, I can't decide!" The blond suddenly looked up in Itachi's direction and waved him over. "Which do you like better?"

The Uchiha observed both items, took a note of Naruto's distressed look, and then looked at the wall next to them.

"To be honest, I rather like this one," Itachi said, pointing at something at the wall. He saw the blond's grimace and hurried to continue, "but you should decide what you want. It makes no difference to me."

Itachi could've sworn that he heard the blond growl.

"But you're paying for it!"

"Naruto, it's a joint account. Your money is in there as well." The said man huffed, blowing upwards towards his bangs.

"It's a difficult choice, Itachi! Just help me choose. Here, look at this one. Doesn't it look fuzzy and warm?" At this, Itachi raised a brow but made no motion to interrupt his lover. "This one on the other hand looks so cool, but if you squint it can also be fuzzy and warm."

"Whichever one makes you happiest," Itachi said, smiling gently. He was alarmed when the frustrated blue eyes narrowed in a glare.

"'Whichever one makes me happiest', he says," Naruto mocked. "You're going to be living with it too! I don't want you to live with something you're going to hate. What if it makes you miserable every time you come home, when you're supposed to relax? Maybe we should choose the one you picked out, but I don't like that one all too much. It's too common…Ugh, Itachi, just make a decision or I'm going to make it for you! Try to care a little!"

Before Itachi had a chance to respond, the blond had already walked away towards the cashiers with the item in hand. He didn't know what brought on this sudden verbal tirade. He searched his memory to see what he did wrong, but honestly could not come up with anything. He wanted Naruto to be happy and trusted in his lover's judgment. But apparently, there had been some miscommunication along the way.

He sighed as he made his way towards their shared home, Naruto already out of sight.

-:-

**I**tachi gave a sigh and gazed at the ceiling before closing his eyes and tilting his head back as he enjoyed the pleasant feeling of the hot bath he was currently taking. He brought a damp cloth to cover his eyes and lowered into the warm waters even more, resting his back against the porcelain walls of the tub and sighed once more. Suddenly, he felt the water ripple and turned his eyes to the bathroom door as he heard the cacophonous slam of a door and sat upright.

"Naruto?" he called out. He waited for an answer, only to be met with silence and gave another sigh for the umpteenth time. Since they had come home, his lover had been ignoring him and to be honest, Itachi felt rather...lonely. Rising from the bath, he dried himself off, covering the top with a bamboo mat. He quickly threw on some clothes and headed for his bedroom to see the blond pacing around in agitation. "The bath is free if you want to use it-"

"Do you not care?" Itachi looked at the blond, who seemed unusually morose. Again, he had no idea what he had done, but for now he tried to appease the blond.

"Of course I care, Naruto. I just think that you should choose what you're happiest with because it doesn't really matter to me." The blond stopped his pacing and turned to Itachi, almost viciously.

"See! 'It doesn't really matter' is another way of saying that you could care less about this. Why are you so indifferent all the time?"

"It's not indifference, Naruto. I just honestly think that you should choose what makes you happy, because you seemed to be more concerned about this than I."

"That's exactly the point; you're not concerned at all! Do you just not care about me, about us?" Realizing what he said, Naruto clamped his lips tightly together to prevent any more sound from escaping him. Itachi narrowed his eyes at the implication of those words and turned to the blond who began to fidget under his gaze, but still never broke eye contact.

"You know very well that's not true, Naruto," Itachi said, almost coldly. If anything, before they started dating, it took Itachi every fibre in his being to prove to the blond that he loved him. Naruto just scoffed and headed towards the door, glancing back once before slamming it closed behind him. It was unnervingly silent once he had left and Itachi just lied down onto his bed to get ready to sleep, before he wondered.

Just how long ago did he get used to the blond's presence that without him, it felt so difficult to breathe?

-:-

**I**tachi woke up in the morning feeling no better than he had last night. He looked to his side, hoping to find his lover but was met with an empty spot where the blond usually was. He got up and stretched, before washing and changing and heading into the kitchen.

"Naruto," he said, waiting for an answer. When only silence replied, he looked around the kitchen to find it empty. He frowned and headed towards the family room, only to find it empty of the blond as well. Did he not come home last night?

He prepared himself a cup of tea and sat at the table in the dining room, sipping on it quietly and slowly. He was sure that the blond would come home soon. He was never gone this long, unless it was a mission. But then again, this was the first argument they have had in their relationship. As time slowly ticked by, Itachi couldn't help but grow slightly worried. Five more minutes passed before Itachi grabbed they keys and a light coat and went out the door in search of his missing lover.

-:-

**H**e had searched every single one of Naruto's favorite spots, to no avail. The blond wasn't anywhere in the village; not the office, the ramen stand, the training grounds, the park, or even the top of the Hokage's monument. He had went to all of Naruto's friends' home to see if his lover had sought solace there (it was rather awkward when he got to his brother's place), but none of them had seen Naruto. While at the Hokage tower, he had asked if the blond had left on a mission, to which he received a negative.

So where in the world was he?

As he arrived home, a foreign smell reached his nose as well as the sight of some of their furniture outside the house. He immediately headed inside only to be greeted with a happy Naruto, who was humming God knows what, looking proud. Itachi took a quick glance over the re-decorated room, before focusing on Naruto.

Who just happened to be covered in paint.

The blond turned to him and grinned. "I figured that I would wait until you leave the house to do all of this, since it doesn't really matter all that much to you." Towards the end, his grin changed into more of a pout, as if suddenly remember what made him leave last night.

Itachi could only stare at the newly painted pale-orange living room (which was a much more soothing colour than he had originally thought) before refocusing back to Naruto, who looked enchanting covered in paint. He walked closer to the blond, who tensed, as if preparing for a fight, and brought him into a sudden embrace.

"I-Itachi?" the blond questioned, a bit unfamiliar with the gesture. Yes, they did have their…_intimate _moments in the privacy of their home, but Itachi showed his affection through small smiles and gifts, instead of physical gestures like this. _Although it's not entirely unwelcomed_, the blond thought.

"I thought you left," Itachi said, ignoring the paint that was now probably smudging on to his clothes; a small sacrifice, in his opinion. Naruto stood in the embrace before gathering his arms around Itachi to return the gesture.

"I did…but I came back," he whispered. The two stood in the embrace for a few moments as a peaceful silence blanketed them. Itachi pulled away slightly to look into Naruto's eyes and touched their foreheads together. The gazed at each other and then Itachi snuck in for a quick kiss, before getting another, and another.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, between kisses. They were soft, almost hesitant, but each was as loving as the next. "I didn't mean to sound like I did not care, but I just trusted in your judgment. Whatever makes you happy makes me happy."

He paused for a moment, as if unsure what to say.

"I missed you."

Naruto smiled at the apology and brought Itachi in for another kiss. "I missed you too. I guess I was overreacting a little, but let's make future decisions together, okay?" He was replied with another kiss before they both pulled away and looked at the newly painted room.

It was a nice, soothing pale-orange that was very relaxing. Naruto thought the colour made one feel at home and 'fuzzy' inside and mentioned it to Itachi, who only gave a 'hm' in agreement. They gave another kiss before Naruto handed Itachi a brush and a paint tray, saying that still had another room to paint in this colour. Itachi took both items and followed Naruto into the other room, giving one more look at the room behind him.

"I still like that light blue colour I chose at the store was better."

He stepped to the side as a paintbrush came flying at his head before grabbing it mid-air and threw it back at the blond who let out a small yelp as it hit him square in the forehead.

And that's how they spent the rest of the day; tossing paint, brushes, and sneaking in some kisses at each other.

-:-End – Finished 30 June 2012-:-

**Chibi Chidori's Nonsense:**

This is my very first short ItaNaru fic and oneshot. I've been a fan of this pairing for a while, although I never had mustered the courage to write it (as I don't think I can get Itachi's characterization quite right), but I did my best! Apologies if he seems out of character. Written for the ItaNarufest! And much, much thanks to my beta **Riuolo**; she is an awesome woman. Especially since this is most definitely not her OTP, but she read and fixed it for me anyway. Thank you so much! :)


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